Julienne looked away, his chest still rising and falling unevenly as he tried to steady himself. The silence stretched between them, heavy but no longer suffocating—just tense, like something fragile hanging by a thread.
Alec didn’t move.
He waited.
For an answer. For anything.
Julienne finally spoke, his voice quieter now but still guarded.
"If you want to see him… then you don’t do it today," he said. Alec blinked, caught off guard.
"What?" he asked.
Julienne crossed his arms, his posture firm as if building a wall between them again.
"You come back next week," he said. "I need time. We need time," he added. Alec stared at him, processing.
"To prepare him?" he asked slowly. Julienne nodded once.
"He doesn’t even know you exist until today," he said. Because everytime Alexa
